summer!

i bought a catcam.
my cat niko goes outside, and i was curious where she goes.
she took some nice pics.

hello!
hows your summer going?
i spend time at studio last week and print some towels finally. i had a great time back in studio.
i printed a new design call "houses" too. i will show you soon.

another thing is im going to europe!! i will spend 5 weeks in paris and another country.
im so excited, even though my sister lives in paris for last 10 years, ive never visited her. so this is my first time to go to europe and i just can't wait. there are many places i want to visit!
im renting an apartment. yay!
i will blog while im there.
see you soon!

japanese masking tapes.

while i was in japan, i saw these colorful masking tapes, and i loved them.
so i had to get them all color! so pretty!
they are made with washi(japanese paper), very thin paper tape.
i found out that you can get these tapes in here and some of etsy shop. ( here and here )

and i wanted have tape dispenser just for these tapes.
where to look? etsy! i found a great wood shop "Banished wood working" , scott who makes cool wood toys custom made these tape dispensers for me!
i just received these tape dispensers yesterday and i'm very happy with it.
if you need one of these you should convo him! i asked him longer length but he will custom make any size for very reasonable price.
this is what i like about etsy, all the talented people from all over the world.

anyway, i just wanted to show off my new tape dispenser and tapes. haha

the visitor.

"thanks for the food!"

"yum yum"

"this is my home!"

hello,
it has been great weather in chicago.
the other day i was open my window and doors to get fresh air. while my cat niko was out enjoying outside, other cat visit my place and ate niko's food!
she was walking around my apt, checking bathroom and everything.
there are 4-5 cats living backyard of my apt, but niko doesnt really like to socialize them so it was good niko wasnt home.

hello from tokyo!

chidorigafuchi by emperor's house

kamakura (鎌倉）

view from my grandma's at hayama

tokyo tower

hello,
im back in tokyo again. im so happy to be here this time of the year. it's a cherry blossom season in japan. they are so beautiful and only last for a week or 2, so i feel lucky!
i went to a few famous cherry blossom places, meguro-kawa（目黒川）, kamakura（鎌倉）, and chidoriga fuchi（千鳥ヶ淵 ）. weather was perfect and it was amazing view.
i dont usually go back to japan so often, and since im away from japan for 15 years, i appreciate many little things about japan which i didnt even notice when i used to live here.
things i love about japan.
1. people are so polite and i believe japanese customer service is the best in the world! at bank, grocery store, post office, everywhere i go, they treat you like you're the queen.
2. trains and buses are so clean and don't smell like cta. drivers are also very polite and nice.
3. convenience store. i will miss japanese seven eleven, ampm, and ローソン。they carry many teas which i love.
i appreciate these little things.

im going back to chicago next week. i cant wait to finally get back to print!

im back!

set of soy sauce bottle, tooth picks and spice container from J-period.

konpeitou (金平糖 suger）from QUOLOFUNE (黒船）. their dorayaki is pretty good.

pear shaped lip balm and hand cream. i had to get these! i got them from drug store.

a little linen tray from cibone. i bought this to put set of 3 containers. i like this store. they have many things that i want! from furniture to note book.

a fish shaped big spoon for rice. i can scoop many rice at once haha. from outlet.

cute birds cloth pins from j.[posh].

a big chopstick for cooking from outlet.

hello,
im back in chicago!
it is good to be back and im taking a much needed break.
here are some stuff i bought from japan.
i didnt have much time to shopping while i was there, but my hometown jiyuugaoka(自由が丘） is known to have many zakkaya san (雑貨) so one afternoon i walked around neighborhood and got some little cute stuff.

im going back to studio this weekend.
i havnt print for a while so im excited to go back to print. im making little bags and stuff for my nephews.
i will post again when i finish making them. :)

thank you...

Hello
thank you for all your kind words for my visit to my dad in japan.
i came back to japan feb 1, and i was spending everyday with my dad at hospital.
my plan was to stay with him in japan for a few months until he gets better.
he passed away last week.
it was so sudden, and my family and i are having saddest time in our life.

we had his wake and funeral at the small church at takanawa, tokyo.
600 people came for his wake and funeral and i think my dad was happy to see all his family and friends.

i miss him so much.

leaving...

hi everyone!

i am leaving chicago in a few weeks to go back to japan.
my father is not doing well and i need to be there.
things has been crazy and I honestly don't know what to do!

PataPri will be close for a while, I'm hoping to re-open as soon as possible but i dont know when it will be.
im having a big sale at my etsy shop, so take a look.

niko will be fine with my bf while im gone. he spoiled her little too much though.

i will write this blog while im gone from japan.

anyway i just want to let you know what's going on.
yuko